Nav / MFD has no "night" mode

[super90]

Why doesn't my Nav go into night mode any more on my LX? It sure is bright driving at night time with the display on. Is there a photosensor somewhere that might have gone bad?

Come to think of it, I think the same thing is true for on our LC. I swear the display used to switch over to a black background with white letters at night time.

TIA

 

[OregonLC]

probably a long shot, but you don't suppose it has to do with the change to when we make the daylight/standard time switch do you?

 

[parnoren]

Do your headlights come on automatically when it gets dark? I have a feeling the sensor (on top of the dashboard, the one to the right on the ps) is the same for both the display and the lights.

 

[e9999]

you can cover the light sensor during the day and the MFD should go into night mode, I believe.

There are 2 sensors on ours, the other one is a sun sensor for the A/C IIRC.

 

[super90]

Automatic headlights work fine.

Any idea where the second sensor is?

Oh and DST is not a factor.

TIA

 

[e9999]

top of dash, LHS, but I don't think that one has anything to do with night mode

 

[super90]

Looks like the display Day and Night modes were set for "Normal". I changed them to "Auto". Found this in the "Setup". Hoping this cures the issue.

Will report back.


Edit: Funny as "Normal" is the default setting.

 

[1loudLX]

Looks like the display Day and Night modes were set for "Normal". I changed them to "Auto". Found this in the "Setup". Hoping this cures the issue.

Will report back.

that's it!

 

[mtnracer]

I was looking for a feature like that on my 2003 LC. Can anyone confirm if the 2003 LC should go into night navigation mode?

 

[1loudLX]

I was looking for a feature like that on my 2003 LC. Can anyone confirm if the 2003 LC should go into night navigation mode?

press the "display" physical button and on the top it should have the soft button to change modes

 

[neoworm]

Check the little wheel to the left of the steering wheel that controls how bright your dash lights are. If you have that wheel cranked all the way up (to the right) then the display will never switch to night mode. I can't remember how I figured that out but it was driving me nuts for awhile. Haha.

 

[super90]

press the "display" physical button and on the top it should have the soft button to change modes

This does indeed work !!! I just started playing with this in my '03 LC and that switches to night mode, albeit manually.

Check the little wheel to the left of the steering wheel that controls how bright your dash lights are. If you have that wheel cranked all the way up (to the right) then the display will never switch to night mode. I can't remember how I figured that out but it was driving me nuts for awhile. Haha.

The Lexus service writer told me about this trick two days ago, but I can't tell it does anything on my '03 LC. Haven't had a chance to try on my '03 LX.


Can anyone confirm that an '03 LC automatically switches between day and night mode?

I'll try my LX when I have access to it in a day or two.

I HAVE to figure this out. This has been driving me nuts !!!

 

[neoworm]

Can anyone confirm that an '03 LC automatically switches between day and night mode?

Yes it does. I have an 03. What I was trying to tell you is that if that dimmer wheel is set to full high then the display will stay in day mode no matter what you have it set to. Just turn the wheel back one click from full high and when you're dash lights come on the display will switch to night mode (assuming you have it set to do so and you have your headlight switch set to auto).

 

[super90]

Yes it does. I have an 03. What I was trying to tell you is that if that dimmer wheel is set to full high then the display will stay in day mode no matter what you have it set to. Just turn the wheel back one click from full high and when you're dash lights come on the display will switch to night mode (assuming you have it set to do so and you have your headlight switch set to auto).

OK.

I was trying just that, and it didn't seem to work. Dimmer switch out of the "full bright" mode, headlights on "Auto". I tried Setup in "Normal" and "Auto". Honestly I don't understand why the default is "Normal". What does that mean? And what is the difference between the two? That whole section of Setup leaves me baffled.

Dimmer switch seems to be intermittent. It worked when I started the car up, but later it had no affect on the brightness of the dash lights. Maybe that's the issue.

 

[neoworm]

Hmmm, well if the dimmer switch isn't working properly that may be affecting it. Assuming you have the settings correct then I'm not sure what else it could be. The only times my screen has not switched to night mode automatically is sometimes at dusk it will turn on my dash lights but will wait till it gets a bit darker out before switching the screen to night mode. I'm not sure how it decides but it works great.

My wife has the truck otherwise I would run out and check my settings for you.

 

[1loudLX]

later models, even if dimmer switch is selected out of full bright, the dash will not dim nor the screen unless ambient light levels are low enough. It's figuring that you may have your headlights on for rain or other things, so will not dim until the sensor notices it's dark out.

 

[Liam]

Check the little wheel to the left of the steering wheel that controls how bright your dash lights are. If you have that wheel cranked all the way up (to the right) then the display will never switch to night mode. I can't remember how I figured that out but it was driving me nuts for awhile. Haha.

exactly....i was racking my brain on this in my 03. I finally read the manual and the above is what it said....

 

[super90]

Dimmer switch seems to be intermittent. It worked when I started the car up, but later it had no affect on the brightness of the dash lights. Maybe that's the issue.

OK, the dimmer works just fine, but I'm a dim-wit !! Guess what, the dimmer switch and the knob under the vent just to the left of it feel exactly the same in the dark of the night with no illumination !!! Seems I was rolling the vent shutoff back and forth waiting for the dash lights to dim.

I do have automatic "Day" and "Night" modes on the Nav/MFD !!!!! All is right with the world and I can sleep well tonight !

Thanks !

 

[mtnracer]

Okay, I did everything suggested here (set the dimmer just to the left of the click and set the Night display mode to "Auto" in the settings menu) but my Nav is as bright as ever.

My headlights are set to "auto" as well and they come on just fine when it gets dark so the sensor works.

The only thing I noticed was that when I changed the "dash light dimmer" wheel the Nav screen gets slightly (very slightly) dimmer or brighter depending on the setting. It definitely does not go into "night" mode (screen colors reverse, etc.).

Any ideas?

 

[super90]

Make sure it is good and dark outside while trying the following:

While the dimmer isn't clicked into full bright mode, it is possible for it to be just shy of that and cause the Nav to say in Day mode. Maybe back off a slight bit more.

Make sure under "Display", it is not set for "Day". Also, in the Setup, try "Normal" instead of "Auto" for the Day and Night settings. That is the default. Honestly, I don't know what Normal is, and I don't know why Normal isn't automatic, I just figured I would stick with default settings.

IMHO, this system has far too many over-rides and is fraught with loopholes that don't allow the owner to manage it the way they think they are managing it. As much as I like our beloved TLC's this is disappointing.